Sunday, September 18, 2011

Powered by a six-horsepower industrial diesel engine and fueled by
store-bought vegetable oil, Petsche's two-wheeler hit a top speed of
56.535 miles per hour, sufficient to set a record in the the 350-cc
Alternate Fuel class.

The donor bike uses a single-speed drive with a centrifugal clutch,
which limits its performance, but Petsche plans to upgrade the
drivetrain to improve acceleration and surpass his record-setting top
speed next year.

Petsche says he built his motorcycle to demonstrate the potential of
off-the-shelf technology (and, literally, off-the-shelf fuel). By
combining preexisting components from generators, go-karts and junked vehicles, Petsche built a low-cost bike that he says gets 100 miles to
the vegetable oil gallon.